Mystical EEs/EHEs Record Type: Review   ID: 208
Unbounded Light: The Inward Journey. 15 Tales of the Inner Light From Ancient Scriptures, Person Accounts, and Modern Science Williams, William E. (Ed.).
This chronological anthology is centered on light. Williams presents abridged accounts concerning light taken from scriptures, experiences of individuals, and from science/physics, biology, thanatology. Part I contains the religious accounts. Williams observes that there seems to be "an unmistakable commonality" (p. x) among the world’s religions, no matter how they may differ as organized religions. The first selection is from the Hindu Upanishads, which were passed down orally before there were written records. The second selection is compiled from Buddhist scriptures. The third is taken from the Christian Bible, including the Gospel of Thomas. The first-hand autobiographical accounts in Part II are by St. Augustine; the Sutra of Hui-Neng; the Moslem Al Ghazali, the Shekhingh of the Kabbalists; St. Teresa of Avila; the mystic Jacob Boehme; George Fox, founder of Quakerism; the Eastern Orthodox monk, St. Seraphim of Davoy; and Paramahansa Yogananda. The experiences quoted in Part II are all well known. All except Boehme speak out of various religious traditions and are identified with religion. [There are hundreds of experiences of light described by ordinary people in many secular walks of life that would have made an interesting fourth category. Several accounts of light could be gleaned from the pages of this journal alone.] In Part III, there is a short history of views of the nature of light in physics. At this point, according to Bohme, "light transcends the present structure of time and space" (p. 210) and ‘Light in its generalized sense (not just ordinary light) is the means by which the entire universe unfolds into itself" (p. 209). The biological chapter really is not about the viewpoint of mainline biology but gets into R.O. Becker’s work with electromagnetism, the views of clairvoyants, light entrainment, and yogic views of light and the body. This is the weakest chapter. The last chapter is about the being of light so prominent in near-death experiences. Williams closes with a quote from Gopi Krishna, who says "the only method to bridge the gulf...between science and religion...and...between men...is the immortal light, held aloft by nature from time immemorial to guide the faltering footsteps of erring humanity across the winding path of evolution." And that light of guiding inspiration is an EHE.
Publisher Information:	York Beach, ME: Nicolas-Hays, 1992. xii + 239p. 51 refs

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